NYPD cannibal cop’s trial commences in Manhattan

The trial of a former New York City Police officer accused of plotting to kidnap, murder and then devour his female victims began on Monday in a Manhattan federal courtroom, according to a federal law enforcement officials.

Law enforcement agents had arrested NYPD Officer Gilberto Valle on Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012 for plotting to abduct women, cook them and then eat their body parts, according to theindictment.

The 28-year-old police officer planned to commit the kidnappings and murders with a person he met on the Internet. His online contact then warned the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the plot. Valle is also accused of illegally accessing a law enforcement database as part of his plot.

Valle, who lived in Queens County, was suspended from the NYPD by his precinct’s commanding officer just before he was arrested by FBI agents, according to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

Valle is accused of planning to abduct up to 100 women. The criminal complaint alleges that Valle began plotting his violent crime wave around January 2012, but that no women were harmed by the rogue cop.

Valle is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Valle is also charged with one count of intentionally and knowingly accessing a computer without authorization and exceeding his authorized access and thereby obtaining information from a department and agency of the United States, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense.

During a press conference at 26 Federal Plaza, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “Gilberto Valle’s alleged plans to kidnap women so that they could be raped, tortured, killed, cooked, and cannibalized shocks the conscience. This case is all the more disturbing when you consider…